HONOLULU (Dec. 23, 2012) – Vander Joaquim netted a season-high 23 points and Hawaii broke the game wide open with an 18-0 run, as the Rainbow Warriors stormed past the Bucs, 84-61, on Sunday evening in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Classic inside the Stan Sheriff Center.

Along with Joaquim, the Rainbow Warriors had three other player score in double figures. Christian Standhardinger scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, Clair Manroop added 15, and Isaac Fotu netted 14 points and 14 rebounds.

The Bucs (2-9) were led by Jarvis Jones (Memphis, Tenn.) and Rashawn Rembert (Tampa, Fla.) as they each pitched in 14 points, while Lester Wilson (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored his 11 points in the first half. Jones also forced five of ETSU’s 11 steals and grabbed five rebounds, and Wilson had three of the Bucs’ six three-point makes.

“The start of the second half really hurt us a lot,” said head coach Murry Bartow. “We felt like we were right in the game at halftime, but Hawaii did a great job taking over during the first four minutes of the second half. We knew their size and rebounding could hurt us - and it did. They are a very deep, big, and well-coached team.”

In the first half, Hawaii (6-4) used a trio of runs to control the tempo and went into the locker room with a 34-22 lead after closing the final three minutes, seven seconds on a 6-0 run.

Just like last night against Arizona, the Bucs got off to a sluggish start as Hawaii scored 10 of the first 13 points, and the Rainbow Warriors extended their lead to 10 when Fotu capped off a 6-0 run with a jumper to make it 16-6 with 12:55 showing on the clock. From there, ETSU was able to clip its deficit to seven, but the Rainbow Warriors quickly responded by scoring seven unanswered points to push their lead to 14, 23-9, marking the largest of the half. With the Hawaii lead hovering around double figures, the Bucs looked to have stolen momentum when a pair of free throws by Mario Stramaglia (Humacao, Puerto Rico) cut the deficit to six, 28-22 with 3:41 left to play; however, those were the last points scored by the Blue and Gold and Hawaii registered the final six points to lead by 12 at the break.

A night after being held below double figures for the first time all season, Wilson paced the Bucs in the opening 20 minutes by recording half of ETSU’s points. Wilson was 4-of-8 from the field (3-for-6 from beyond the arc), but the rest of the team combined to go 4-of-21 and missed on four of their 3-point attempts. In total, the Bucs shot 27.6 percent (8-29) from the field, while Hawaii posted a 42.4 (14-33) shooting percentage. The Rainbow Warriors doubled up ETSU on the glass, 24-12, and turned nine offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points.

Unfortunately, the Rainbow Warriors carried the momentum over from the closing minutes of the first half into the early stages of the second as Hawaii scored the first 12 points of the frame, and in total, tallied an 18-0 run to see their advantage balloon to 24, 46-22, with 17:22 left in the contest.

Things never got any better for the Blue and Gold as Hawaii’s lead reached 31 when Vander’s dunk made it a 75-44 game with 5:17 showing on the clock. ETSU managed to score 17 of the final 26 points, but the massive Rainbow Warrior run was too much to overcome as ETSU suffered its sixth straight loss.

Hawaii shot nearly 60 percent (58.8) in the second half and finished 34-of-67 (50.7 percent) for the game, along with hitting 10 of its 23 three-point attempts – four coming off Manroop’s hot hand. After being out-rebounded by 19 against Arizona, the Bucs were minus-23 in the statistical category against the Rainbow Warriors as Hawaii won the battle on the glass, 49-26. Furthermore, Hawaii converted 16 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points, while tallying 22 assists – five each from Manroop and Fotu.

Meanwhile, the Bucs finished 23-for-67 (34.3 percent) from the field, but only tallied seven assists and made six of their 23 attempts from beyond the arc. ETSU managed to force the Rainbow Warriors into 20 turnovers and cashed those miscues into 22 points.

Following an off day on Monday, the Bucs close out the tournament Tuesday when ETSU faces San Francisco at 2 p.m. (EST) inside Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN3.

For more information on Buccaneer men’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com.